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Marley
“By some uncanny act of artistic appropriation, [Clinch] has, without imitating Dickens, entered into the phantasmagoric realm that is the great novelist’s quintessential territory…Startling and creative…Remarkable… Masterly.” — The New York Times Book Review
From the acclaimed author of Finn comes a masterful reimagining of Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol with this darkly entertaining exploration of the relationship between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley.
“Marley was dead, to begin with,” Charles Dickens tells us at the beginning of A Christmas Carol. But in Jon Clinch’s ingenious novel, Jacob Marley, business partner to Ebenezer Scrooge, is very much a rapacious and cunning boy who grows up to be a forger, a scoundrel, and the man who will be both the making and the undoing of Scrooge.
They meet as youths in the gloomy confines of Professor Drabb’s Academy for Boys, where Marley begins their twisted friendship by initiating the innocent Scrooge into the gentle art of extortion. Years later, in the dank heart of London, their shared ambition manifests itself in a fledgling shipping empire. Between Marley’s genius for deception and Scrooge’s brilliance with numbers, they amass a considerable fortune of dubious legality, all rooted in a pitiless commitment to the soon-to-be-outlawed slave trade.
As Marley toys with the affections of Scrooge’s sister, Fan, Scrooge falls under the spell of Fan’s best friend, Belle Fairchild. Now, for the first time, Scrooge and Marley find themselves at cross-purposes. With their business interests inextricably bound together and instincts for secrecy and greed bred in their very bones, the two men engage in a shadowy war of deception, false identities, forged documents, theft, and cold-blooded murder. Marley and Scrooge are destined to clash in an unforgettable reckoning that will echo into the future and set the stage for Marley’s ghostly return.
Meticulously crafted and beguilingly told, Marley revisits and illuminates one of Charles Dickens’s most cherished works to spellbinding effect.
From the acclaimed author of Finn comes a masterful reimagining of Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol with this darkly entertaining exploration of the relationship between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley.
“Marley was dead, to begin with,” Charles Dickens tells us at the beginning of A Christmas Carol. But in Jon Clinch’s ingenious novel, Jacob Marley, business partner to Ebenezer Scrooge, is very much a rapacious and cunning boy who grows up to be a forger, a scoundrel, and the man who will be both the making and the undoing of Scrooge.
They meet as youths in the gloomy confines of Professor Drabb’s Academy for Boys, where Marley begins their twisted friendship by initiating the innocent Scrooge into the gentle art of extortion. Years later, in the dank heart of London, their shared ambition manifests itself in a fledgling shipping empire. Between Marley’s genius for deception and Scrooge’s brilliance with numbers, they amass a considerable fortune of dubious legality, all rooted in a pitiless commitment to the soon-to-be-outlawed slave trade.
As Marley toys with the affections of Scrooge’s sister, Fan, Scrooge falls under the spell of Fan’s best friend, Belle Fairchild. Now, for the first time, Scrooge and Marley find themselves at cross-purposes. With their business interests inextricably bound together and instincts for secrecy and greed bred in their very bones, the two men engage in a shadowy war of deception, false identities, forged documents, theft, and cold-blooded murder. Marley and Scrooge are destined to clash in an unforgettable reckoning that will echo into the future and set the stage for Marley’s ghostly return.
Meticulously crafted and beguilingly told, Marley revisits and illuminates one of Charles Dickens’s most cherished works to spellbinding effect.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 8, 2019
About the author
Jon Clinch
12 books329 followersJon Clinch’s first novel, Finn—the secret history of Huckleberry Finn’s father—was named an American Library Association Notable Book and was chosen as one of the year’s best books by The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Chicago Tribune. His second novel, Kings of the Earth, was named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post and led the 2010 Summer Reading List at O, The Oprah Magazine. A native of upstate New York, Jon lives with his wife in the Green Mountains of Vermont.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 434 reviews
September 3, 2019
As a huge fan of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, I was very excited to read this and learn more about Jacob Marley. A Christmas Carol left me with many questions about Jacob Marley; and, while this story does answer most of these questions, they aren’t answered until the end of this novel.
The book spans from 1787, during Marley and Scrooge’s time as teens at a boarding school, through 1836, until Marley’s death. For the better part of the first half, the reader gets to know more about Ebenezer Scrooge, Mother Scrooge, Fan, and Belle. I marked on my Kindle that it primarily centered around Scrooge’s family and their relationships until 40%. After that point, the reader does hear more from Marley but it’s more about Marley’s relationship with Scrooge’s family and his illicit business affairs. I wanted more from Marley and his personal internal depths. Perhaps even his childhood? We know nothing of Marley’s family even after reading this novel about Marley.
Most of my questions concerning Marley were not answered until 80% or after. The plot up until that point moved slowly regarding Marley. Some characters from A Christmas Carol do make an entrance in this tale. For example, we see Bob Cratchit make an appearance after halfway through.
The setting was spot on, and I really liked the ending. I also enjoyed the language use that the author chose to follow. Although it did contain some, I was hoping for more idioms and neologisms that Dickens was so fond of in his literary accounts. Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this advanced copy. Opinions are my own.
The book spans from 1787, during Marley and Scrooge’s time as teens at a boarding school, through 1836, until Marley’s death. For the better part of the first half, the reader gets to know more about Ebenezer Scrooge, Mother Scrooge, Fan, and Belle. I marked on my Kindle that it primarily centered around Scrooge’s family and their relationships until 40%. After that point, the reader does hear more from Marley but it’s more about Marley’s relationship with Scrooge’s family and his illicit business affairs. I wanted more from Marley and his personal internal depths. Perhaps even his childhood? We know nothing of Marley’s family even after reading this novel about Marley.
Most of my questions concerning Marley were not answered until 80% or after. The plot up until that point moved slowly regarding Marley. Some characters from A Christmas Carol do make an entrance in this tale. For example, we see Bob Cratchit make an appearance after halfway through.
The setting was spot on, and I really liked the ending. I also enjoyed the language use that the author chose to follow. Although it did contain some, I was hoping for more idioms and neologisms that Dickens was so fond of in his literary accounts. Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this advanced copy. Opinions are my own.
October 22, 2019
“Marley was dead,” Dickens begins. “There is no doubt that Marley was dead.” When Scrooge endures that spectral visitation from his old partner in chains, the man has been underground for seven years.
But now — to borrow the words of another great Victorian writer — the rumors of his death are greatly exaggerated. Marley lives. Jon Clinch has revived the life behind the famous ghost in a prequel that fleshes out the early relationship between the two old misers in “A Christmas Carol.”
When it comes to such literary pickpocketing, Clinch is a regular Oliver Twist. His first novel was “Finn,” a gripping, often lurid tale about Huckleberry Finn’s pap. Like Gregory Maguire, who gave us the backstory on the Wicked Witch of the West in “Wicked,” Clinch creates wholly original stories that snap together with the edges of classics we all know.
In “Marley,” he begins when Jacob and Ebenezer are students at Professor Drabb’s Academy for Boys, a boarding school even grimmer than Mr. Gradgrind’s classroom in “Hard Times.” (Allusions to Dickens’s novels appear throughout these pages like Easter eggs.) With an amusing imitation of Dickens’s style, Clinch writes that the. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
But now — to borrow the words of another great Victorian writer — the rumors of his death are greatly exaggerated. Marley lives. Jon Clinch has revived the life behind the famous ghost in a prequel that fleshes out the early relationship between the two old misers in “A Christmas Carol.”
When it comes to such literary pickpocketing, Clinch is a regular Oliver Twist. His first novel was “Finn,” a gripping, often lurid tale about Huckleberry Finn’s pap. Like Gregory Maguire, who gave us the backstory on the Wicked Witch of the West in “Wicked,” Clinch creates wholly original stories that snap together with the edges of classics we all know.
In “Marley,” he begins when Jacob and Ebenezer are students at Professor Drabb’s Academy for Boys, a boarding school even grimmer than Mr. Gradgrind’s classroom in “Hard Times.” (Allusions to Dickens’s novels appear throughout these pages like Easter eggs.) With an amusing imitation of Dickens’s style, Clinch writes that the. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
December 12, 2023
“Small misjudgments ramify into networks of larger ones.”
I really loved this book. Unexpectedly so. Author Jon Clinch cleverly fills in some of the gaps that are in A CHRISTMAS CAROL in a manner that works with that text. It is very Dickensian in its style, and the names reek of Dickens’ ability to create character names that also indicate what the character is like. Names like Drabb, Sweedlepipe, Gradgrine, etc. They’re just fun. I suspect many of them probably came from other Dickens works. I have regrettably only read a little of him. The text also abounds with allusions and hints of foreshadowing that readers of A CHRISTMAS CAROL will catch. Especially clever is a cameo from a young (child) Bob Cratchit.
Mr. Clinch has imagined the life of Jacob Marley, who in Dickens’ world we only know as a ghost. Beginning with Marley’s youth in 1787 and ending with his death in 1836 we see what made this man tick. Clinch’s creation is a con man of the highest order. A bad dude, one with not a single scruple.
One of the things I enjoyed about this book was the writing. So many fun sentences, like this… “The deliveryman has a wooden leg that belongs to him, and a horse and a wagon that don’t.” Also enjoyable was the fact that we get a glimpse of the kind of life Scrooge could have lived. It’s sad to see this light in his character, knowing that it will be extinguished with bitterness and greed. Clinch’s Ebenezer Scrooge is a man ruined by his poor choice in friends and partners.
Quotes:
• “The details do not matter, though, for the principle is the thing.”
• “What sort of Englishman is forever too busy for tea?”
• “It looks hastily done but its offhandedness is a matter of much consideration. Such is art.”
• “I should think there’s wisdom in choosing when to do battle…”
• “They recede into the past, generation by generation, terrible ordinary men with terrible ordinary failings and terrible ordinary secrets that they have learned to keep even from themselves- burdens fated to accompany them to their graves and beyond.”
• “It is better to fail at a difficult thing than to succeed at the commonplace again and again.”
As stated, I enjoyed this book. The wonderful depiction of the journey of Jacob Marley is brilliant. I hated him from the text’s onset to almost the last page. I had a visceral reaction to this awful human. But Jon Clinch’s kicker of an ending pulled the rug out from under me…reminding me of Marley’s humanity. Which made his ugliness all the more terrifying. It could be my own. It also seamlessly fits into (and creates) the motivation for Marley to appear as a ghost to Scrooge in Dicken’s CAROL.
MARLEY is a quick read, fast paced, and a thoughtful text. It captured me completely.
I really loved this book. Unexpectedly so. Author Jon Clinch cleverly fills in some of the gaps that are in A CHRISTMAS CAROL in a manner that works with that text. It is very Dickensian in its style, and the names reek of Dickens’ ability to create character names that also indicate what the character is like. Names like Drabb, Sweedlepipe, Gradgrine, etc. They’re just fun. I suspect many of them probably came from other Dickens works. I have regrettably only read a little of him. The text also abounds with allusions and hints of foreshadowing that readers of A CHRISTMAS CAROL will catch. Especially clever is a cameo from a young (child) Bob Cratchit.
Mr. Clinch has imagined the life of Jacob Marley, who in Dickens’ world we only know as a ghost. Beginning with Marley’s youth in 1787 and ending with his death in 1836 we see what made this man tick. Clinch’s creation is a con man of the highest order. A bad dude, one with not a single scruple.
One of the things I enjoyed about this book was the writing. So many fun sentences, like this… “The deliveryman has a wooden leg that belongs to him, and a horse and a wagon that don’t.” Also enjoyable was the fact that we get a glimpse of the kind of life Scrooge could have lived. It’s sad to see this light in his character, knowing that it will be extinguished with bitterness and greed. Clinch’s Ebenezer Scrooge is a man ruined by his poor choice in friends and partners.
Quotes:
• “The details do not matter, though, for the principle is the thing.”
• “What sort of Englishman is forever too busy for tea?”
• “It looks hastily done but its offhandedness is a matter of much consideration. Such is art.”
• “I should think there’s wisdom in choosing when to do battle…”
• “They recede into the past, generation by generation, terrible ordinary men with terrible ordinary failings and terrible ordinary secrets that they have learned to keep even from themselves- burdens fated to accompany them to their graves and beyond.”
• “It is better to fail at a difficult thing than to succeed at the commonplace again and again.”
As stated, I enjoyed this book. The wonderful depiction of the journey of Jacob Marley is brilliant. I hated him from the text’s onset to almost the last page. I had a visceral reaction to this awful human. But Jon Clinch’s kicker of an ending pulled the rug out from under me…reminding me of Marley’s humanity. Which made his ugliness all the more terrifying. It could be my own. It also seamlessly fits into (and creates) the motivation for Marley to appear as a ghost to Scrooge in Dicken’s CAROL.
MARLEY is a quick read, fast paced, and a thoughtful text. It captured me completely.
July 13, 2019
I'd like to express my appreciation to Atria Books and Goodreads for providing this book in return for an honest review.
"Kings of the Earth" and " Finn" are favorite books of mine thus I was very anxious to read "Marley." And, of course, I was hoping for some of that Fire and Brimstone that I loved in the previous novels. Nope; not in this one. I was disappointed. Instead, Mr. Clinch took us in another direction aptly demonstrating his literary expertise. The prose penned in "Marley" is exquisite, adhering befittingly to the era. Personally, I found the first half of "Marley" uninteresting; the second half pulled the story together and provided an enjoyable read.
"Kings of the Earth" and " Finn" are favorite books of mine thus I was very anxious to read "Marley." And, of course, I was hoping for some of that Fire and Brimstone that I loved in the previous novels. Nope; not in this one. I was disappointed. Instead, Mr. Clinch took us in another direction aptly demonstrating his literary expertise. The prose penned in "Marley" is exquisite, adhering befittingly to the era. Personally, I found the first half of "Marley" uninteresting; the second half pulled the story together and provided an enjoyable read.
October 13, 2019
Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge meet as boys at the gloomy Drabb's Academy for Boys. Marley has a keen talent for trickery, deceit and all things dishonest and Scrooge is magical with numbers. So, of course, they go into business together. But it's all based on the slave trade, side-stepping the law, and trickery. But two men with very little moral fiber are going to come to odds sooner or later....and when Scrooge and Marley have a falling out, it is definitely epic.
A Christmas Carol has been my favorite book since childhood. I own several well-read copies, plus several movie versions and a few re-tellings/re-visits. So of course when I saw this book available for review, I jumped right on it. I'm always up for a little visit with Ebenezer and Marley. This time Marley was definitely not dead as a doornail....but he was definitely a scheming, evil little man! Ebenezer isn't much better. I enjoyed this revamp of Dickens story and characters. A little update....a dash more evil intent....and a little added violence. Nicely done!
This is the first book by Jon Clinch that I've read. I'm definitely interested in reading his re-telling of the Tom Sawyer story, Finn. I hope it is as good as Marley!! I love the front cover...the chains are a perfect fit to the story!
Definitely an enjoyable read! I think Dickens would approve.
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
A Christmas Carol has been my favorite book since childhood. I own several well-read copies, plus several movie versions and a few re-tellings/re-visits. So of course when I saw this book available for review, I jumped right on it. I'm always up for a little visit with Ebenezer and Marley. This time Marley was definitely not dead as a doornail....but he was definitely a scheming, evil little man! Ebenezer isn't much better. I enjoyed this revamp of Dickens story and characters. A little update....a dash more evil intent....and a little added violence. Nicely done!
This is the first book by Jon Clinch that I've read. I'm definitely interested in reading his re-telling of the Tom Sawyer story, Finn. I hope it is as good as Marley!! I love the front cover...the chains are a perfect fit to the story!
Definitely an enjoyable read! I think Dickens would approve.
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
October 6, 2019
I was in the very fortunate position to read an advance copy of this book, and I should start by saying that I am a true fan of Jon Clinch. I am also a great lover of Dickens, and so I approached this book with initial caution. There is nothing worse than ersatz Victorian-ish writing, and Dickens is easy to imitate, but oh-so hard to do right. I needn't have worried. Clinch is a master stylist with a pitch perfect ear. He doesn't imitate, but he does capture something inherently Dickensian in language, setting, and character. But don't let me stop there. What sets Clinch apart from other writers is that he has an unflinching moral vision at the heart of all of his stories, and so it is with Marley. Clinch revisits a Christmas Carol, a moral parable, and looks straight into the dark heart of the world that created it. Marley is oh so satisfying because there is so much to it. This is no mere retelling of a famous tale. In Clinch's able hands, Marley becomes a character for the ages-- a Captain Ahab, a Kurtz, and also, perhaps most importantly, a mirror of ourselves in our current moment. This is a richly rewarding, brilliant book. I highly recommend it.
June 12, 2020
I am a huge fan of John Clinch. In fact, Kings of the Earth remains among my all-time favorites. This book had a different flavor – perhaps due to the period language, the time period itself, or even the development of the characters.
For those interested in the possible beginnings of Ebeneezer Scrooge, and what led to his bah-humbug attitude later in life as witnessed through Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, this book provides plenty of possible answers.
I found the story terribly sad – not very hopeful – and found it difficult to connect to a very unlikeable character. In fact, I didn’t feel a huge emotional connection to any of the characters. Much of my reaction could be a direct result of the state of the world right now. Maybe I needed something slightly more uplifting.
My 3.5 rounded to a 4 rating reflects my respect of Clinch’s poetic writing and talent. I do think fans of Dickens will be delighted to give this a shot.
For those interested in the possible beginnings of Ebeneezer Scrooge, and what led to his bah-humbug attitude later in life as witnessed through Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, this book provides plenty of possible answers.
I found the story terribly sad – not very hopeful – and found it difficult to connect to a very unlikeable character. In fact, I didn’t feel a huge emotional connection to any of the characters. Much of my reaction could be a direct result of the state of the world right now. Maybe I needed something slightly more uplifting.
My 3.5 rounded to a 4 rating reflects my respect of Clinch’s poetic writing and talent. I do think fans of Dickens will be delighted to give this a shot.
April 4, 2020
I always begin with "ignore the stars" because I don't care for the star system. However, in this case, don't ignore the stars. As he did with his incredible novel "Finn", Jon Clinch takes a character from literature--in this case Jacob Marley from Dickens--and creates not only a complete and compelling story but also a fully realized character and a fully realized world from what information Dickens gave him. The result is just....wonderful. We come to understand exactly how Ebeneezer Scrooge becomes the twisted money-mad figure who appears in "A Christmas Carol" and what his ostensible friend and former schoolmate Jacob Marley did to assist in the transformation. Rarely has conscienceless evil been so meticulously depicted in a novel. Marley is truly a villain for the ages, leaving in his wake shattered dreams, ruined lives, disease, and death. He is the living embodiment of psychopathy...all his deeds accomplished with sickening smile. Wow. What an achievement on the part of the author. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
October 5, 2019
*3.5 stars rounded up. I thought this was an intriguing novel, an imagining of what Marley and Scrooge were like BEFORE our beloved story, A Christmas Carol. How did they make their money, for instance? Just what were Marley's despicable sins that formed his heavy chains after death? They may be worse than you had ever thought. Author Jon Clinch comes up with some nasty scenarios. I couldn't help but think of Mr Hyde (Dr Jekyll's alter ego) as I read. Two of a kind. Yet Marley does seem to have a heart because it can break...or is it just wounded male pride? And as we anticipated all along, Marley does get his just deserts in the end.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks!
December 26, 2021
DNF at 50%
March 9, 2020
Jacob Marley had a life before he became the reproachful apparition of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. This is the inspiration for Jon Clinch's imaginative prequel penned in a florid style meant to hint at without adopting a Dickensian voice.
Clinch's Scrooge is a hapless victim trundled off to a squalid boarding school where bullies are given free reign, the headmaster being the apex bully. The credulous newby Scrooge is easy prey to Marley's oily duplicity. Later, we find they have become business partners. Scrooge keeps the books; Marley develops the business, a complex network of purchasing ships and conveying cargo, including slaves. Marley's scheme is rather ingenious. It includes creating a network of shell entities to purchase and sell the ships, filing false insurance claims for losses, and renaming and re-registering the same ship under new ownership while he funnels the proceeds into the business. His considerable skills at forgery enable his crimes to go undetected. The bookkeeping is complex and Scrooge is ignorant of the fraudulent dealings.
Unfortunately, even with a feigned courtship between Marley and Scrooge's sister Fan, and a doomed courtship between Scrooge and Fan's best friend Belle Fairchild, the characters never really came to life for me. Instead of caring about the fates of the characters, I kept wondering how Clinch would connect this plot to the inevitable outcome that opens Dickens' story.
This was a fast read and an interesting example of Clinch's clever use of familiar Victorian themes: poverty, prostitution, the increasing outcry against the slave trade, and child labor. However, employed as merely décor in order to develop the plot, they eliciit little emotional response. It's an interesting if not really successful writing experiment.
Clinch's Scrooge is a hapless victim trundled off to a squalid boarding school where bullies are given free reign, the headmaster being the apex bully. The credulous newby Scrooge is easy prey to Marley's oily duplicity. Later, we find they have become business partners. Scrooge keeps the books; Marley develops the business, a complex network of purchasing ships and conveying cargo, including slaves. Marley's scheme is rather ingenious. It includes creating a network of shell entities to purchase and sell the ships, filing false insurance claims for losses, and renaming and re-registering the same ship under new ownership while he funnels the proceeds into the business. His considerable skills at forgery enable his crimes to go undetected. The bookkeeping is complex and Scrooge is ignorant of the fraudulent dealings.
Unfortunately, even with a feigned courtship between Marley and Scrooge's sister Fan, and a doomed courtship between Scrooge and Fan's best friend Belle Fairchild, the characters never really came to life for me. Instead of caring about the fates of the characters, I kept wondering how Clinch would connect this plot to the inevitable outcome that opens Dickens' story.
This was a fast read and an interesting example of Clinch's clever use of familiar Victorian themes: poverty, prostitution, the increasing outcry against the slave trade, and child labor. However, employed as merely décor in order to develop the plot, they eliciit little emotional response. It's an interesting if not really successful writing experiment.
November 26, 2020
A great read for Christmas if you're familiar with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Actually if you're too familiar with the book, the movies and the Disney cartoon, you may keep thinking of Belle Fairchild speaking as Daisy Duck!
But on to more serious things...and one thing here is that the reader sees the long view of Marley's and Scrooge's lives. There's a saying that how you spend your time is how you spend your life, and that's true here. It's not as if some day you say, ok, I'm done with being a business man, now I'll enjoy my life. The things that make it enjoyable are physically gone, such as youth and health and relations.
So it would appear that Marley was always a bad egg, but he softened towards the end...while Scrooge started off with more of the milk of human kindness, but hardened as he got older. Scrooge had female family members, so perhaps that made all the difference.
Wonder if Clinch based Marley's business dealings on a certain past president? Because when Marley wanted you gone, he did more than just fire you.
But on to more serious things...and one thing here is that the reader sees the long view of Marley's and Scrooge's lives. There's a saying that how you spend your time is how you spend your life, and that's true here. It's not as if some day you say, ok, I'm done with being a business man, now I'll enjoy my life. The things that make it enjoyable are physically gone, such as youth and health and relations.
So it would appear that Marley was always a bad egg, but he softened towards the end...while Scrooge started off with more of the milk of human kindness, but hardened as he got older. Scrooge had female family members, so perhaps that made all the difference.
Wonder if Clinch based Marley's business dealings on a certain past president? Because when Marley wanted you gone, he did more than just fire you.
October 17, 2019
There is a steady beat from the beginning of this book marking progress toward certain disaster. We are introduced to Scrooge and Marley as school boys where Marley institutes his control over Scrooge and the audience can shout warnings in the hope that Scrooge will grasp what this malevolent Marley is up to.
The characterizations are truly magnificent and even though one knows the Dickens story from childhood the reading experience allows for quietly hoping for a different outcome.
This is a very successful and fun new look at the lives of Scrooge and Marley.
Library Loan
The characterizations are truly magnificent and even though one knows the Dickens story from childhood the reading experience allows for quietly hoping for a different outcome.
This is a very successful and fun new look at the lives of Scrooge and Marley.
Library Loan
November 1, 2019
I picked this novel up on impulse and discovered a surprising page-turner ahead of my favorite season of the year, and one based on my favorite story of that season, too. I'm not sure Clinch was trying to write a Christmas novel, even given his source material (which of course is Dickens' A Christmas Carol), but he sure nailed the atmosphere: foggy London streets, creepy houses, and several key scenes at Christmastime. The writing clips along--I finished it in three days, a rarity for me--and the ending was a nice set-up for What Comes Next (which I re-read at least in part every year). I also appreciated the lack of the supernatural, except as metaphor. That was appropriate, and also wise, as it would be very hard to follow Dickens in that regard. The references to key elements of the original tale (the door knocker, the chains, Bob Cratchit, a graveyard scene, and the handkerchief tied around Marley's chin) were enough, as was the way the fire in Scrooge's office dwindles from a friendly blaze down to a single coal as the years go on.
So why only three stars? Because any redemption of Marley, Scrooge, or the other characters is contingent on knowing what happens in the later book. Maybe that's a given (even those who haven't read A Christmas Carol have a pretty good idea what happens), but I still would have liked a glimmer of it here. Without Dickens in this book's future, all you have at the end are three sorry souls (Marley, Scrooge, and Scrooge's sister Fan), two of them having departed this world and the third dining alone on his cold dish of revenge. I think Clinch was trying, through Marley's relationship with Fan and his affection for her son, Fred, near the end of the book to make it seem like a real change had happened in Marley's heart. But I had been so thoroughly convinced by that point that Marley was irredeemably damned that I didn't believe he was doing anything more than using Fan for the sex he could no longer get at whorehouses. Not satisfying for someone who likes not only redemption, but also likeable characters. It may be a fault that I must have at least one likeable character in any novel that I read...but I do. They can be flawed, but they still must be sympathetic on some level. In this book, it was almost Belle, Scrooge's failed love interest, but she wasn't strongly drawn enough; nor was her relationship with Scrooge. I did like Fan for most of the book, but both her descent into despair and her succumbing to the charms of syphilitic Marley after the death of her husband struck me as unrealistic as well.
None of this ruined the book. I'd recommend it. Just read its antecedent right afterwards. That's the best way to get the whole story. I'll get you started: "Marley was dead, to begin with."
So why only three stars? Because any redemption of Marley, Scrooge, or the other characters is contingent on knowing what happens in the later book. Maybe that's a given (even those who haven't read A Christmas Carol have a pretty good idea what happens), but I still would have liked a glimmer of it here. Without Dickens in this book's future, all you have at the end are three sorry souls (Marley, Scrooge, and Scrooge's sister Fan), two of them having departed this world and the third dining alone on his cold dish of revenge. I think Clinch was trying, through Marley's relationship with Fan and his affection for her son, Fred, near the end of the book to make it seem like a real change had happened in Marley's heart. But I had been so thoroughly convinced by that point that Marley was irredeemably damned that I didn't believe he was doing anything more than using Fan for the sex he could no longer get at whorehouses. Not satisfying for someone who likes not only redemption, but also likeable characters. It may be a fault that I must have at least one likeable character in any novel that I read...but I do. They can be flawed, but they still must be sympathetic on some level. In this book, it was almost Belle, Scrooge's failed love interest, but she wasn't strongly drawn enough; nor was her relationship with Scrooge. I did like Fan for most of the book, but both her descent into despair and her succumbing to the charms of syphilitic Marley after the death of her husband struck me as unrealistic as well.
None of this ruined the book. I'd recommend it. Just read its antecedent right afterwards. That's the best way to get the whole story. I'll get you started: "Marley was dead, to begin with."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2019
I was so into this slim book that it should not have taken me a week to devour it, but, unfortunately, real life gets in the way.
I'm not sure Charles Dickens didn't write this to flesh out Jacob Marley from his A Christmas Carol. The familiar characters are here, Marley, Scrooge, Belle, and even Bob Cratchit. I can not use the word "delightful" because Marley, himself, is anything but. He is despicably brilliant man who works any and all ways to benefit financially at anyone's (even Scrooge's) expense. He literally stops at nothing to get what he feels he deserves.
I met Jon Clinch at the first Booktopia, but this is the first of his books that I have read. I'm going to remedy that very, very shortly.
I'm not sure Charles Dickens didn't write this to flesh out Jacob Marley from his A Christmas Carol. The familiar characters are here, Marley, Scrooge, Belle, and even Bob Cratchit. I can not use the word "delightful" because Marley, himself, is anything but. He is despicably brilliant man who works any and all ways to benefit financially at anyone's (even Scrooge's) expense. He literally stops at nothing to get what he feels he deserves.
I met Jon Clinch at the first Booktopia, but this is the first of his books that I have read. I'm going to remedy that very, very shortly.
July 9, 2019
I received a copy of this book from Goodreads in return for an honest review.
I came to this book as a big fan of Clinch, having devoured Finn. As Marley is one of my favorite characters in literature, I was super excited to read this book. I was not disappointed. Clinch creates a sprawling and succinct backstory to Marley and creates a friendship and rivalry for the ages. This will be a great intellectual holiday read. I will definitely read it once more after looking again at A Christmas Carol. Highly Recommended.
I came to this book as a big fan of Clinch, having devoured Finn. As Marley is one of my favorite characters in literature, I was super excited to read this book. I was not disappointed. Clinch creates a sprawling and succinct backstory to Marley and creates a friendship and rivalry for the ages. This will be a great intellectual holiday read. I will definitely read it once more after looking again at A Christmas Carol. Highly Recommended.
December 30, 2019
Beautifully written, timely as all hell, and filled to bursting with characters who feel like people you might actually know. If you haven't read this, you're missing out. If you have, then you've made a damn good choice.
February 19, 2020
Where do I start with this horrible excuse for a retelling? When it comes to retellings, authors generally go two routes: stay true to the source material while adding more depth to the story, or use the original as inspiration and then promptly ignore it for the majority of the book. This book, unfortunately, felt like the latter. Major things were ignored from the original text, changing not only the characters but entire point of Dicken’s story to begin with. Clinch throws in things from the slave trade and prostitutes. It was all very strange and modern-feeling, not examining issues from the views of the era. The only redeeming quality in this book is the language, as the descriptions are often beautiful and visual.
Full review on my blog: https://madamewriterblog.com/2020/02/...
Full review on my blog: https://madamewriterblog.com/2020/02/...
December 24, 2019
I gave the book 2 stars because I didn't like it from early on in the novel. So why did I finish? Because I enjoyed the craft Clinch displayed.
The novel fully betrayed Scrooge's statement in A Christmas Carol to Marley's ghost, "You were always a good friend to me, Jacob." In this work, Marley was never a good friend to Scrooge and Scrooge knew it. And the switcheroo pulled in the last 10 pages would not have changed things enough to elicit an "always". That disconnect never eased. I didn't like how Scrooge's business was conducted, never mind Marley's conduct. I didn't like how Fan died. I thought that was nothing short of cruel.
The novel fully betrayed Scrooge's statement in A Christmas Carol to Marley's ghost, "You were always a good friend to me, Jacob." In this work, Marley was never a good friend to Scrooge and Scrooge knew it. And the switcheroo pulled in the last 10 pages would not have changed things enough to elicit an "always". That disconnect never eased. I didn't like how Scrooge's business was conducted, never mind Marley's conduct. I didn't like how Fan died. I thought that was nothing short of cruel.
September 8, 2019
This book was compelling enough that I stayed in the RV at Burning Man to finish it. I found the backstory here very interesting. There was not the same horrified fascination that I found in Finn, and I'm glad, because I don't think I could have taken it here. The family background was compelling. Marley himself... wow. So nicely painted. I liked the slightly mannered prose, as though this were written contemporaneously with Dickens. A lovely book.
I got a free copy in exchange for a review.
I got a free copy in exchange for a review.
October 28, 2019
I was eager to pick this up as a fan of both Dickens and Jon Clinch. It sounded like a great premise for a book, but ended up being kind of boring for me, with a focus on shady business deals rather than delving deep into the characters. I felt like Clinch had this wonderful idea, but then just couldn't decide what direction to go with it.
December 25, 2019
1.5 stars - I didn't like it.
DNF’d around 30% in; yawn.
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First Sentence: Sunrise, but no sun.
DNF’d around 30% in; yawn.
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First Sentence: Sunrise, but no sun.
December 17, 2023
Marley is an exquisite piece of literature in that it evokes the writing and world of Charles Dickens without stealing from it wholesale. Jon Clinch has created a believable background to the great Dickens novel as if he had Dickens notes alongside him as he wrote, a novel that explains the devious and cynical nature of Ebenezer Scrooge, the nightmarish friendship he had with Jacob Marley, and the fate of the two women in Scrooge’s life—his sister, Fan, and lost love, Belle—that, in the end, cost him his soul. For a careful reading of A Christmas Carol reveals that it was the loss of these two women that affected Scrooge so much. Unbeknownst to the world, we now, through an equally fictional story, discover the depths of depravity and evil Jacob Marley lived and how the friendship between the two men conspired to make Ebenezer Scrooge the miserable wretch we see in Dickens’ great novel. For if Scrooge was a wretched, tight-fisted, nose to the grindstone sort of man, then Jacob Marley was the devil incarnate. Poor Scrooge never had a chance with a friend such as Marley. It was a lifelong pursuit of trying to undo the great evils that Marley delighted in that dragged Scrooge into the wretched state we find in in the opening of A Christmas Carol.
The most defining line in the entire story… Scrooge is not an especially religious man and he has no particular ideas about Heaven or Hell, but he does not like to imagine himself a restless ghost, weighted down by the bloody iron chains of innocent men made chattel. So ends his crisis of conscience. So begins the labor that will warp his spirit and consume his future. He crosses the threshold and closes the door and sets about his great work.
A great read. Highly recommended.
The most defining line in the entire story… Scrooge is not an especially religious man and he has no particular ideas about Heaven or Hell, but he does not like to imagine himself a restless ghost, weighted down by the bloody iron chains of innocent men made chattel. So ends his crisis of conscience. So begins the labor that will warp his spirit and consume his future. He crosses the threshold and closes the door and sets about his great work.
A great read. Highly recommended.
October 30, 2019
This is the first book I’ve read by this author. Loving Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the premise sounded intriguing, so thought I’d give it a try. It’s essentially a detailed backstory of Scrooge and Marley, Belle and Fan, based on the author’s imagination. As crafted, I don’t think I’ve come across a more despicable character as Jacob Marley, truly drawn as the scum of the earth, from his business dealing to his personal relationships to his very soul. In his partnership with Scrooge, we get a glimpse into the twisted way Scrooge became his own mean spirited man of business. I sensed perhaps a small window of redemption for Marley at the end. I’m not convinced he deserved it, although i thought it was a great setup for what comes later in Dickens’ work.
November 12, 2019
Really two and a half stars. A prequel to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, showing how Scrooge and Marley met and became business partners. The first half was a slog, as the writing was a bit dry and had alot of "telling" instead of "showing" who Marley was. The second half was a little better, but I still didn't think the writing was that good. It was under 300 pages, though, so I did get through it.
September 5, 2019
At the beginning of "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens all we know about Jacob Marley is he is dead. At the end of the story we know he is in eternal torment, having lived a wretched, sinful life.
That's all we know.
Yet, somehow this shadow, for that is how he appears to us, becomes the catalyst by which Ebeneezer Scrooge's life and soul are saved.
Wouldn't you like to know how Marley got there? Jon Clinch spares nothing in the telling. It is a tale of depravity, selfishness and betrayal, the story of a man responsible for the death, ruination and despair of more people than Dicken had the ink to spend to tell you.
Weep.
That's all we know.
Yet, somehow this shadow, for that is how he appears to us, becomes the catalyst by which Ebeneezer Scrooge's life and soul are saved.
Wouldn't you like to know how Marley got there? Jon Clinch spares nothing in the telling. It is a tale of depravity, selfishness and betrayal, the story of a man responsible for the death, ruination and despair of more people than Dicken had the ink to spend to tell you.
Weep.
August 29, 2019
Finn told an alternate history of the life of Pap, Huck’s father. MARLEY tells the alternate history of the erstwhile partner of Ebenezer Scrooge. Marley is a con-man, a trickster, a man of many hidden identities. As his partner descends deeper into greed and anti-social behavior, Marley pursues scams and ruses, partly for the fun of it. The best way to enjoy Clinch’s mordant character study is to forget everything you know about Dickens. However, Dickens is well represented. At times it seems that half of the dramatis personae of Bleak House is Marley in disguise. This is a rollicking literary guessing game of cat and mouse, or perhaps cat and smarter cat might be more suitable. Lives are ruined, diseases spread, fortunes lost, people die, but Marley, psychopath or degenerate, smiles on
December 19, 2025
While I enjoyed this book, I felt that some parts of it or the characters' personalities didn't quite match up to the rest of the book. Overall enjoyable read :)
August 6, 2020
This is a fun book- Jon Clinch gives you the back story on how Scrooge became Scrooge. So much fun!
October 9, 2019
This book is beautifully written. Words are the author’s paintbrush, and the story becomes a vivid painting. The reader is submerged into the time period and sees Marley and Scrooge interact. A fascinating story!
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